STRAWBERRY. 347 



sally grateful alone, or with sugar, cream, or wine, and has 

 the property, so valuable for acid stomachs, of not under- 

 going the acetous fermentation* Physicians concur in 

 placing Strawberries in their small catalogue of pleasant 

 remedies ; as having properties which render them, in most 

 conditions of the animal frame, positively salutary ; they 

 dissolve the tartareous incrustations of the teeth ; they pro- 

 mote perspiration. Persons afflicted with the gout, -have 

 found relief from using them very largely ; so have patients 

 in case of the stone ; and Hoffman states, that he has 

 known consumptive people cured by them. The bark of 

 the root is astringent." 



In cultivating the Strawberry, an open situation and 

 rich loamy soil, rather strong, is required for most varieties ; 

 and from their large mass of foliage and flowers, they must, 

 till the fruit is set, have copious supplies of water. The 

 row culture is best calculated to produce fruit ; and fre- 

 quent renewal insures vigorous plants, as well as large fruit. 

 Some make beds of single rows, from twelve to eighteen 

 inches apart, according to the sorts ; others form a bed with 

 two rows eighteen inches asunder. If several beds be in- 

 tended, a space of two feet may be left between each bed as 

 a path ; and in the second or third season, the paths may 

 be manured and dug, to admit of the runners taking root ; 

 by this means, a renewal may be made so often, and the 

 old stools being taken away, leaves spaces between the beds 

 as before. Or, new plantations may be made every season ; 

 because after the roots are fairly established, they multiply 

 spontaneously, as well by suckers from the parent stem, 

 as by the numerous runners ; all of which, rooting and 

 forming a plant at every joint, require only removal to a 

 spot where there is room for them to flourish. If taken 

 off, and planted in rows in August and September, they 

 will produce fine fruit the following season, and will bear 

 in full perfection the sacond Summer ; some, however, 

 prefer Spring planting, which answers very well, if done in 

 damp weather. 



A plantation of the Alpine yields fruit the same year 

 that it is made. The Wood and the Alpine come regularly 



